Disney and Marvel want your kids to cuss

I took my family to see “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” last week and came away with the same frustration I’ve felt from the last few Disney/Marvel movies I’ve seen.
It was a good movie brought down by bad language. It’s extremely disappointing that Disney and Marvel have developed such vile potty mouths. It is infuriating that they openly advocate for the unfiltered use of bad words. Make no mistake about it, Disney – that bastion of wholesome goodness and family values – openly advocates for children to use swear words. You heard that right; the House of Mouse wants your children to cuss.
If you don’t believe me, consider these examples. First, a little background. Disney owns Marvel Studios. Marvel Studios is the movie-making branch of the company that publishes comic books of superheroes like Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor, and that group of intergalactic misfits known as the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Please keep in mind that children are the primary audience for Marvel and Disney. These companies have tremendous cultural influence in America and around the world. They are helping to shape the minds and attitudes of the next generation of global leaders.
When Marvel began putting out movies based on its popular line of superheroes in the 1990s, one would only hear an occasional swear word in the movies. Now that Disney owns the studio and has ramped up production of these comic book flicks, it has progressively gotten darker and dirtier with their scripts.
It finally reached the point in 2015 in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” when Disney and Marvel engaged in open mockery of oral integrity. Early in the film, Iron Man clips the side of the building and lets slip a swear word. Captain America cautions, “language,” meaning that they should keep it clean on the communication channels. A few moments later Iron Man comes back and says, “No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said ‘language’?” It then becomes a running joke throughout the rest of the movie and reaches a point near the end where Captain America himself blurts out an obscenity.
Flash forward two years and several films and we have the second “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie, which has upped the volume on bad language. The movie is rife with foul language. It’s used as if it were just a normal part of everyday conversation. To further make my case that Disney/Marvel encourages cussing, we have the scene in the new movie where Rocket and Groot are welcoming Yondu to the team. All Groot (a walking, talking tree) is capable of saying is “I am Groot.” Rocket (a talking raccoon) does most of the translation. When Yondu asks Rocket what Groot said, Rocket says, “Welcome to the frickin’ Guardians of the Galaxy, only he didn’t say ‘frickin’.’” He then turns to Groot and tells him they need to work on his language skills. The implication is that Groot – who is a toddler in this movie – needs to loosen his tongue a bit.
Granted, the word “frickin’” isn’t a swear word, but it is clearly meant as a substitute for one. It’s actually one of the few times real swear words weren’t just blurted out in the movie.
This is evidence that Disney and Marvel have a clear and open agenda to encourage and teach children to swear.
On a side note, the main characters in Guardians engaged in a conversation about male genitalia and cross-species mating. It did almost nothing to move the plot forward and was completely inappropriate for a young audience. It’s just further evidence of how low Disney and Marvel have stooped.
Now I may be an old, prude, fuddy-duddy, but I can’t imagine I’m the only one who has a problem with this. Disney has (or had) a reputation for good, clean, wholesome fun and family values. Walt Disney built his empire on a reputation of integrity. Image was everything. I can only imagine how he would feel if he came back today to see what has become of his life’s work.
When you think of Disney movies you usually think of cartoons and live-action comedies that you would be comfortable taking your grandmother or a 4-year-old to see. You don’t expect to see movies with content that would make a sailor blush. Marvel, DC and other comic book companies have been making R-rated movies for years, but Marvel has been pushing the envelope recently with releases like “Deadpool” and “Logan” (I have not seen either) that are targeted toward an audience not even old enough to see them. Even though they are not Disney films, Disney still bears guilt by association.
In all fairness, I could say much the same thing about DC comics and recent adaptations of Batman and Superman. DC, however, is not owned by Disney. Although Warner Bros., which distributes the movies, never had a saintly reputation to uphold, I still find their superhero movies to be equally disappointing and inappropriate for their target audience.
Getting back to Disney, further evidence of its descent into the dark side can be found in its own homegrown “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. The first movie was really enjoyable, but each progressive film has gotten worse. I don’t have high hopes for the new one due out later this month.
OK, so there you have it. Maybe I’m just an old prude who’s out of touch with modern society. I’d rather see myself as a guardian of this galaxy, one who is willing to stand up and speak out when something goes this hideously wrong. If you agree with me, let Disney hear your voice. You can write to them at: The Walt Disney Company, Attn: Walt Disney Pictures, 500 South Buena Vista St., Burbank, CA 91521. You can also write them online at www.waltdisneystudios.com/contact.